04 July 09- The Not-So-Lazy Days of Summer

The past month has flown by so quickly, I had to look at my planner to remember what has happened since we returned from our trip to Ulleungdo. I finally wrapped up the semester for Teacher Training, there was a smattering of Open Classes to observe and participate in, more English camps and then there was the trip to the hospital for a physical for our visa renewal process. [This time we got more than last year. For about $50, this time I had the X-ray, vision test, dental check, blood and urine tests. I was also made to strip down from the waist up and have metal clamps attached to all of my limbs with a bunch of suction cups attached to my torso and chest with little wires running to a machine with a printout of what I assume was my heart beat, but I didn’t actually get to see it (was that an EKG? I have no idea).]

Other than that, I have spent most of my time outside of the classroom out in the woods enjoying the mountains in my backyard. I can only stare at a computer for so long, right? I have been reading a lot of books on food and health lately, and have been daydreaming of farmer’s markets and gardens. This may seem ironic since I am about the least healthiest person I know, but it inspires me to try a little bit harder, at least for a day or until I can’t bear to eat one more carrot stick and it’s easier to order something for delivery. Anyway, the only magazines I have around the house are Women’s Health and Yoga Journal. They always have those advertisements showing a svelte woman in lycra running tights and a sweat-wicking tank bounding happily across some alpine forest with gorgeous snowcapped peaks in the background, or in a Warrior II pose with waves lapping at her feet. I always wonder, why couldn’t I be like that? And then I remember, “Oh yeah! I’m lazy!!!”

Recently it seems like every weekend, my home page on facebook has been filled with status updates of people running marathons or posting photos of beautiful camping treks. I tried becoming a runner with a few pathetic weeks of jogging last fall, but after I overdid it and injured myself, the weather turned cold and the days got really short and I just decided to hibernate. Running around in circles on concrete slabs wasn’t that exciting for me. I only managed to run for 7 and a half minutes straight before wanting to collapse and I worried my knees would snap like peanut brittle. I dabbled in yoga and pilates dvds, but it’s not really the same when the instructor is on a screen giving out scripted encouragement. So I realized that I am not a runner and not good and staying in one place, I am somewhere in between, and since going on 30 minute walks in the evenings around town started to turn into casual strolls and occasional stops at the grocery store for an ice cream treat, I needed to find a better solution.

The only thing I really like doing around here is hiking, because it seems like no matter what the season, it's always beautiful! And as they say, if you want to stick with something, you have to enjoy it. Usually, when I hike on the weekends, I take longer trails, but on a whim I decided to time myself on a shorter leg featuring a steep incline that nearly killed me one morning when I accidentally hiked on an empty stomach. The round trip took less than 45 minutes. One day, my friend and I decided to take flashlights up to the trail and hike at night. We got about 100 feet in and then we let fear (and perhaps common sense) get the best of us… even if this is one of the safest countries on earth, we didn’t want to be the first victims of some random crazies on the mountain! Somehow we said, “let’s go at 6am…” 6am? What? On a Saturday? Why? I have no idea, but we agreed we’d do it and sure enough at 6 sharp, we were on the trail enjoying the cool air of the morning. We decided to keep going after making it up the steep hill and on to a longer trail. We took some generous breaks to enjoy the views of the ocean and the valleys and wandered as we pleased. It felt like we were gone for a really long time, but when I got back home the clock only read 845!

The next day I had an all day English Camp, but instead of being exhausted when I got home, for some reason I just got up and went back hiking again. I repeated the 45 minute hike Monday and Tuesday nights as well. On Wednesday morning, I decided to take the plunge. I left my place at 630 and to my surprise there were people coming off the mountain as I was going up! I reached the top of the hill, stretched a little and then jogged back down (going slowly seems to be more dangerous because there are so many rocks and pebbles to slip on). Once I hit a lesser grade of incline I decided to keep running because it was so much fun! Ever since then I have been going at 6am, and there are still a ton of people up there, and surprisingly, most of them are senior citizens. Korean trails have exercise stations dotted all throughout, so they go up there and then work out. One curious thing they do is to scream out from the hollows of their stomach, I suppose like everything in Korea, it’s good for you. Even though this week has been a roller coaster of sweltering heat and monsoon storms, the mountain has been so refreshing and green. There are tons of butterflies and dragonflies all around (along with some other flying insects I would rather not see) and I have even encountered a huge Asian toad twice on the trail.

I hope that posting this in public will be that extra kick I need on days when I don’t feel like it. I find that all I have to do is stand up and change into my hiking clothes and then getting out the door isn’t an issue. I always have a good time up there, even if I don't have the lycra tights and wicking top just yet.

16 June 09- Everyone Loves a Field Trip!

It's not every day you get an all expenses paid trip to an island that every person in a country is absolutely dying to visit...

Last week we were invited to participate in an EPIK sponsored field trip to Ulleungdo and Dokdo islands ("do" means island in Korean, so I apologize for the redundancy, but it sort of flows better). Ulleungdo is a volcanic (dormant) island off the coast of eastern Korea. There are quite a few islands around Korea, but not many are inhabited. Jejudo, to the south, is quite large and known as the "Hawaii of Korea" as it is semi-tropical and a popular honeymoon destination. Ulleungdo is a little more isolated however. It takes three hours by ferry to get there, and there is only one ferry a day from Pohang (the biggest city with a port in the region), and depending on the season, two other ferries from other ports (Mokho and Hupo, if you must know). The weather is notoriously tempermental, which can leave people stranded on either side for days (we were unable to travel there in late May for this very reason).

The real reason behind the trip was to visit the tiny islets 87.4 km off of Ulleungdo, which are called Dokdo by Koreans, Takeshima by the Japanese, and the Liancourt Rocks by the rest of the world. There is quite the dispute going on over these two seemingly unimportant geological features hanging out in the East Sea (aka Sea of Japan to the rest of the world). Koreans are always curious to know what you know about Dokdo, because every single person here is well versed in proselytizing that Dokdo belongs to Korea, and it is presented as a very real and very urgent issue... as if the country would collapse if you told them any different. The (Koreans') long story short is that historically (according to old maps drawn by Koreans and Europeans), the island has always been recorded as a part of Korea. The problem comes in around the time of the Japanese occupation of Korea in the early part of the 20th century, when they first documented that it was a part of Japan (which, at that time, all of Korea belonged to Japan). After WWII, Japan had to give Korea back (and many other areas previously under their control in China and Russia), and they conveniently refused to return these two specks of land out in the middle of nowhere (along with some islands belonging to China and Russia). Because of the brutal treatment during the colonial years, Koreans have seriously deep scars when it comes to Japan, and it is not uncommon to hear children or even well-educated adults say hateful things about Japan and the Japanese people. When I first learned of Dokdo, I found out that there are some precious natural resources below one of the rocks, so I thought it was a power struggle, as Korea is not known for its natural resources... but our field trip sort of filled in the blanks. To most Koreans, Dokdo is about independence from Japan and national sovereignty. To most Japanese, however, Takeshima isn't even in their vocabulary... they haven't even heard of it, nor do they probably care. I think my students would burn me at the stake if I ever said, "I think it belongs to Japan."

What's most peculiar about the issue is that it's pretty much a non-issue. The ONLY way to get to Dokdo is by ferry from Ulleungdo, which requires travel from mainland Korea. The only people who inhabit the island are 30 odd police officers (not the military, as this would be seen as hostile) and one old couple (who is perhaps paid quite handsomely). The Japanese don't have any way to get there directly from Japan, and they aren't really trying hard to do that in the first place... But for the Koreans, there is so much "Dokdo belongs to Korea" propaganda your head would spin! What is scary is that Koreans use this uber-nationalism to start making borderline absurd claims against the Japanese as if they are going to re-invade at any moment. This is especially odd since they barely bat an eyelash over real threats made by their cousins to the north.

Okay, so I had to get that out of the way... that was the purpose of the field trip- to gain a better understanding of the situation nobody else in the world cares about. But the actual field trip itself was incredible... and here's why:

We took the Sunflower ferry from Pohang in the morning, and for those who have ever thrown up ever in their lives should definitely take some dramamine before attempting this trip. All of the foreigners downed their meds 30 mins before departure and we lived to tell about it. The rest of the people on the boat, did not has as pleasant of a time starting about five minutes after we left the dock. The waters were quite choppy, and at one point when I had to get up to use the restroom, it was like a war scene or something. Old men and women were lying on the floor, bent over the staircases, moaning and retching into small plastic bags. People were falling over each other trying to get to the bathrooms. Once in the bathroom, every stall was filled with someone puking up breakfast. I couldn't even wash my hands because surrounding each of the three sinks, were 1-2 women hurling, and the trash can had women taking turns (don't worry, I always carry Purell).

Once we arrived at the tiny port, it was amazing. Many people felt like it was walking onto the set of LOST, because of how lush and green all of the tall peaks were all around. We followed the crowds to the little town center and had a quick lunch (read: everyone had fish, I ate rice), visited the Dokdo Museum, took a cable car through the valley and then went on a nice hike with gorgeous views. On a clearer day, we might've seen Dokdo, but it was a little too overcast that day. Being able to see Dokdo from Ulleungdo is one of the reasons Koreans legitimately believe it's theirs. Afterwards, we had a nice dinner, attended a lecture about Dokdo, and had to do a meet and greet with some middle school students. Our student's English was quite good. There aren't any foreign teachers on Ulleungdo, so I was pretty impressed. Afterwards, one of the other teachers taught a yoga class and it was so nice and refreshing to stretch out after the long day. Our hotel room was actually a room in a villa at the Dae-A Resort. Although it was Korean style (floor mattress), the air was so clean and cool, we slept well all through the night. I can definitely say it does not suck to wake up to an ocean view (the photo to the side is not even the entire view from our room, just off to the side)!

The next day we started out on a tour of the island. There are only about 9,000 residents and it is so mountainous, people only live on the coastline and one part of the volcano's basin. The views were spectacular and the whole place is a geologist's dream. I impressed myself by properly recalling and identifying basalt! Many of the rocks have curious shapes and being island people with a fair amount of time on their hands, almost all of the rocks have names. We had a tour guide who gave us some history of the island peppered with lots of "That is called Lion Rock because it looks like a lion." sentiments (many of the animal shapes are foreign to the Korean mainland, so I was curious how they came up with them). I christened one unnamed formation Whale Rock- everyone agreed that it looked like a whale (which definitely exist in the surrounding waters). We were taken all over the island, to beautiful vistas, temples and an artist's garden. After a delicious lunch of mixed medicinal mountain herbs and rice (sanchae bibimbap) in the Nari Basin, we headed back to the port to set out for Dokdo.

The Koreans ensured us that once we actually went to Dokdo, our hearts would be set straight and there would be no more confusion over who it belonged to. The ferry was 90 minutes each way and we were only allowed to stay for 20 minutes. We were also fenced in to the cement dock and weren't allowed to actually step foot on either of the two islets. Meanwhile, what seemed like millions of seagulls swooped overhead bombing the unsuspecting camera-happy tourists. And every now and then a police officer would dart through the crowds to stop a tourist from doing something prohibited (like getting in the water... which I still don't understand what that was about). It was perhaps one of the least favorite moments of the trip. I think it was one of those situations where you say, "Well, now I can say I've been there, and I am extra glad I didn't pay for it myself."

After returning back to Ulleungdo, we had dinner and were treated to another lecture on the legal issues with Dokdo and another meet and greet with high school students. Our student was easily the most advanced student of the group, and we quickly discovered during a friendly quiz about Ulleungdo that he had recently moved to the island from Andong (closer to where we live) and therefore couldn't help us answer any of the questions in the quiz! I will openly admit here and now that I completely cheated when they asked a question in Korean and I understood it and knew the answer, so I buzzed in first and thus "we" won the prize even though he was supposed to translate the question into English first. As they say, cheaters never prosper because the pizza we won had seafood on it, so I went hungry in the end.

The next morning, we took a nice hike which hugged the rugged coastline near the port and it led up to a lighthouse. The waters were so clear and such an amazing color of blue, it reminded me of my summer in Greece when I got to swim in the Aegean. The photos looked like they could be photoshopped, but they are all real! To top it off, we had yaksogogi, which is beef from cows that have only feed on the medicinal mountain herbs. It was by far the best food I have had so far in Korea. It is really a shame it can only be found on Ulleungdo! Afterwards we were given a little time to explore around the port and buy some of the local souvenirs, including pumpkin taffy and dried mountain herbs. Not surprisingly, I passed on the famous dried squid...

And then it was time to return back to the mainland. I highly recommend taking the trip to Ulleungdo (you can skip Dokdo itself if you go to the museum with a translator). The island is gorgeous and I am sure our photos (more here) don't even do it justice. Also, Ulleungdo boasts that it has no snakes, pollution or thieves, which is always a nice way to spend a vacation. It is abundant is so many other things, I really hope we have the opportunity to go back!

31 May 09- Welcome to the "Real World"

So this morning I came across the article by Donna Freedman called Serve America (and get paid). She talks about how the poor state of the economy is increasing the applications for AmeriCorps, Teach for America and Peace Corps. These government sponsored volunteer programs fall under the umbrella of the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) formerly named the USA Freedom Corps under the Bush Administration, which was formerly known as, you guessed it, CNCS. Each program offers a small living stipend (TFA's pay is higher, AC offers an Education Award and Peace Corps gives a readjustment allowance upon completion of service) in exchange for full and/or part-time positions with Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) domestically and abroad.

Freedman flat out tells people that because the new jobseekers are now desperately looking for work the competition is getting fierce. She explains why showing up and offering your assistance isn't going to cut it. I think it's great that people are probably starting to realize that they want to have meaningful work, so I applaud their interest in wanting to make a difference. But I am super excited that these programs are finally getting some credit where credit is due.

I joined AmeriCorps back in 2002 after graduating from a respectable university with a Sociology degree, good grades and a professional work ethic. I just didn't know how to make it work for me- all I knew was that I could help where I was needed, so AmeriCorps was an appealing opportunity I gladly seized. I actually applied to AmeriCorps to better my skill set for getting accepted into the Peace Corps, and after 2 years in AmeriCorps (one as a State/Direct, one as a VISTA), I joined Peace Corps.

Back then, some of my peers and family ridiculed my decision to be a professional volunteer while they were working in the mainstream. They were convinced nobody could be happy making $600 a month and armed with food stamps (yes, you are taxed on that living allowance and the education award once you cash it in). They were insistent that full time volunteering would look bad on a resume when competing with other mainstreamers once I later tried to land a job in the "real world." I politely kept my mouth shut.

And yet, my experiences were incredible and have opened many doors for me over the years. I was given leadership roles and responsibilities right off the bat, and I met, trained and worked with amazing people in the non-profits and community development fields. But I was also well aware that both programs had issues with recruiting quality volunteers. It was sort of a joke that if you were breathing, interested and willing to wait out the application period (for Peace Corps the average was about 9 months), you'd get in. Some people (in general, the fresh out of college ones) think that if they are volunteers and work full time for peanuts, that they don't have to work as hard or take their organization's mission too seriously. That was disappointing to witness and frustrating to work alongside them when they were clearly taking advantage of a good cause and wasting the opportunity to develop professionally while making a difference (it was just a few, and perhaps this is common for entry-level workers in all fields).

I never got why people thought that serving your country through community service was a joke (by the way, community service in this case doesn't mean what your parole officer tells you to do). Many people would ask me what I was going to do when I had to join the "real world" once I completed my service. It's as if all of the skills I gained, responsibilities I carried out and impact I made don't count because I wasn't being paid an attractive salary. My perspective on the "real world" definitely changed my first year as a volunteer, when I was facilitating service projects for under-served youth to address the very real issues that communities have to deal with like poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, hunger, literacy, alcohol and drug abuse, cancer treatment that puts families into debt and environmental sabotage. There are non-profits out there committed to eradicating these issues, but they need more qualified people to help them by donating their time and/or money.

After all of my wonderful experiences with AmeriCorps and Peace Corps, I didn't have a lot of money, so I took the first job offered to me that met my criteria (pays enough to save up to go abroad again and has an easy commute). And let me tell you, that "real world" was not for me, but the professional skills I picked up as a volunteer put me on a fast track to rising up the proverbial ladder (faster than some of the people who had been there longer than I), had I actually enjoyed the work I was doing there and wanted to stick around. I am not going to knock the company because I was treated well there, it's just that international trade is not where my passions or interests lie. Ultimately, I was resourceful (so many years of being used to living on less money translates to lots more saved faster) and got back into a field I enjoyed in less than a year (we left that life behind 2 years ago to this day and have never looked back). Sometimes over the years I have had to ask myself, "is my life for real?" The answer is yes, very much so, and I couldn't be happier!

So I am thrilled to see that more people are applying to these organizations because it will weed out the slackers and the most qualified will hopefully make a bigger impact on the communities they serve. These organizations do need people with connections to the business world and are seasoned with a variety of skills. I really admired the older volunteers during my service because they really knew how to network and strategize, and as a result, their projects were quite successful. Serving in one of these programs can make a huge difference in your life by exposing you to the aforementioned ugly realities of society (both domestic and abroad) and by teaching you how to be resourceful and proactive to make a positive change.

And you know what? When those people who scoffed at me back then hear about my experiences, they usually say, "Wow! I wish I could have done something like that!" Now that some of them have lost their "real world" jobs due to the economy or are simply exhausted by the meaningless time they spend in their cubicles, I'd gladly tell them, "You can start doing something now!" Too bad their resumes would look better if they had more volunteer experience. The competition is getting steep.

24 May 09- How Many Posts Does it Take...?

...to be officially boring? The answer is 100!!! I was hoping this post would be about our little adventure to Ulleungdo and Dokdo, however the trip was postponed due to bad weather on Thursday. Don't worry, it was postponed in true Korean fashion- at the last minute! After we'd woken up at 545am and been on a bus for 90 minutes, we got the call. The best part was that once they told us it was canceled, we were instructed to return home and go back to work the next day (without having planned any of our lessons)! At least they didn't make us go back to school and teach the same day! We took advantage by hanging out at the HomePlus complex in Pohang- it was pouring rain so we weren't about to go shopping downtown. And we treated ourselves to Outback Steakhouse and then rolled ourselves home. We'll make our second attempt in two weeks.

Everything else around here has been pretty low key. The weather is starting to get muggy and everyone is feeling lethargic in class. Last week, we crossed a major milestone by going a whole day without a single student falling out of their chairs at one of my schools! Trust me, this happens a lot in elementary school. This week we implemented a new rule, where if we saw them leaning back and tilting their chairs or their desks (the cause of the constant accidents), we'd take it away from them. This worked in all of our classes but one, where one girl lost her chair and not a minute later a boy lost his desk. They took it in stride and I think the kids as a whole are treating it more as a game to see if they can "win" by staying straight (I guess it's really tempting to lean back and/or tilt the desks in our classroom because they are very lightweight), so it's a win-win situation all around.

We're in the process of signing our new contracts for our third year and counting down the eight weeks left in the semester until summer vacation! I can't believe we have been here for over 21 months! Although I was really disappointed when my favorite traditional swing was taken down this weekend, as I was walking through town today, I just felt so at peace with all of the surroundings. Some people might judge our little village as poor and dilapidated, but it really has its own charm. Whenever I think of my dream place, I think of a bustling farmer's market with lots of beautiful produce, and stoic mountains in the distance, the scent of fresh green foliage and rolling fields on the side of the road where my students cheerfully call out to me as they pass on their bicycles, and neighbors bowing to say hello. Our little village delivers all of the above, it's just not the stereotypical picturesque European version I have in my head, but it is pretty close! We are at home here, and are looking forward to another 15 months :)

** Just a note that all of these places in the photos are within a 5-15 minute walk from our apartment, so if we ever just want to get away from any sort of bad day or boredom, we don't have far to go before taking a deep breath and letting the beauty of this place all in.

15 May 09- Into the Wild

Last Saturday and Sunday, I hosted 16 hours of English Camps at my main school. We decided to break each grade (3rd-6th) into their own four hour slot and run the same camp with graded difficulty. The third and fourth graders only have English class once a week for 40 minutes, and the rest of them have class twice a week, so I was a little worried about they'd handle the long stretch of English.




Somehow the theme of animals crossed my mind and the more I entertained it, the more I liked it. I found a bunch of activities I thought the students would like and would be easy to prepare here in a short time and I pitched it to my co-teacher and our TaLK scholar, who'd be helping us. They heartily agreed and we set out to make our Animal Camp.




Permission slips came in all week and our colorful supplies and materials finally arrived (do you know how HARD it is to find good animal crackers in Korea? And you can forget about plain old construction paper). Below is an outline of the camp:



Students arrived and were given name tags according to three groups: monkeys, bears and tigers. We introduced students to the animals by showing them pictures and drilling the English names for each, as well as the sound or movement they make in English-- which was a little confusing to some of the kids at first, but they got into it. For each successive level, we added more animals and information about them- where they live, etc.




Then we gave them a worksheet for matching the animals to their names. Since many of the third graders haven't been taught to read yet (that doesn't start in the national curriculum until fourth grade), we made special worksheets for them with the sound of the English name written in hangeul (Korean script). For the older students we had an additional worksheet of hidden pictures and a word search (which they found really exciting).




Next up was a rotation of three activities revolved around animals. The first one was called Feed the Animals and was basically a bean bag tossing game, but with some added English. Ryan and I took a large cardboard box and drew four animal faces on it, cutting out holes where their mouths would be. The holes were different sizes for different points. The students had to cheer, "Who's hungry?! Who's hungry?!" as their teammate stood at a line. When the student decided which amount of points he wanted, he had to yell out, "The LION'S hungry!" and aim for the lion. Then the rest of the team would shout out, "FEED IT! FEED IT!" Then the student would throw. We changed each round up to a variety of points and different distances. The kids really loved this game and didn't want to end, but at the end I'd ask, "who's hungry?" and when somebody would say, "ME!" I'd say, "Okay then, let's eat ANIMAL COOKIES!" they went crazy and we had our animal crackers and jungle juice boxes.



The next activity was Pin the Tail on the Rabbit (Donkey wasn't on our vocab list, and circles for tails are much easier to cut out than long thin donkey tails). Although the traditional game is done quietly and teammates are not allowed to cheat by giving directional hints, we wanted them to learn and practice directions. After spinning around blindfolded, the teammates had three chances to give a direction (up, down, right, left... and later, a little left, big left- which isn't terribly correct, but they came up with it themselves to communicate so I was proud of them for trying). Then they had to "go straight" till they hit the board. One girl ended up in tears because she started walking on a diagonal and ended up way across the room. Ahh, the fragile egos of 11 year olds!




Our last activity was to make animal masks. I'd requested paper plates and construction paper, but all we could come up with was plastic plates and origami paper. In the end, we stopped encouraging them to cut out eyes (with boxcutters) and just make the mask and color the eyes! They learned some vocabulary for cut and glue as well as reviewing the colors. Although they only had about 30 minutes for the activity, some of their masks were really adorable- never underestimate the power of pipe cleaners and kids!




Finally, we taught them a song in English. It was called "The Animals in the Zoo" and went to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus" and used the name of the animal and its sound in English. After practicing with all the animals they'd been taught earlier, the teams had to pick two they liked and perform with their masks at the front of the class. After that, we tallied up points from the various activities (all meaningless, but they love competing for points), and all of the kids got the same prizes, two kinds of notebooks with animals on them along with a certificate of completion (a staple of Korean camps).




By the end of the weekend, we were exhausted and just had to take a breather after it was all over. I called my co-teacher at my other school (I will be repeating this camp for all of my schools) to change the back to back schedule because I didn't want to repeat so many hours of working without a break! I think it was a smart move, because my voice still hasn't recovered nearly a week later from all the chanting and cheering! When I saw my students in class in the following days they were SO excited to see me, so I think they really enjoyed themselves and as far as I am concerned, Animal Camp was a great success.